Updates On New ‘Blade Runner’ Movie & ‘Point Break’ Remake

Alcon Entertainment head Andrew Kosove is involved with numerous upcoming high-profile remakes, TV show reboots, and new franchise installments. That list of projects includes a live-action/CGI adaptation of the Hong Kong Phooey cartoon series – and, more prominently, both another movie set in the Blade Runner universe and a revamping of the Kathryn Bigelow-directed 1991 action classic, Point Break.

Kosove has spoken out about his impending film slate and dropped some interesting tidbits about the current status of the new Blade Runner flick, as well as some insight into how much of a “pure” remake the new Point Break is going to be.

Ridley Scott is planning to direct said Blade Runner movie and previously indicated that the project will (in all likelihood) be a semi-sequel that does not directly connect to the events/characters of his original 1982 sci-fi classic. However, with no screenwriter officially set and Scott being in contention to direct numerous in-development projects, there’s been some question as to just when exactly this second Blade Runner title will fully begin pre-production.

“[Ridley Scott has] got a lot of stuff that he’s working on. I believe it’s an extremely high priority for Ridley, that’s what he’s said to me. This [‘Blade Runner’ film] is moving forward aggressively in development… Sometime in the first two months of the new year we’ll announce who the screenwriter will be and whether or not it’s a prequel or sequel. And then we’ll be off to the races.”

It will be interesting to see how the success of Scott’s Prometheus affects (or doesn’t affect) progress on his Blade Runner movie. After all, if the aforementioned film, which is based in the Alien universe, proves to be a hit, there will probably be heightened demand for Scott to both direct one of the already-planned sequels AND revisit his other beloved sci-fi movie creation (ie. Blade Runner) in the hopes of replicating his newfound success. Suffice it to say, the 74-year-old filmmaker won’t be retiring anytime soon…

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Point Break

The Point Break remake, unlike the new Blade Runner movie, already has a script writer onboard, in the form of Kurt Wimmer (Salt, Law Abiding Citizen, Street Kings). However, it also has the disadvantage of being a member of the impending mass of remakes/reboots that Hollywood plans to move forward with in the future – something that people have been already more-than-willing to voice their objections about.

Here is what Kosove has said, with regards to why the Point Break remake is a worthwhile endeavor:

“This is the thing — surfing is a part of it, but I will tell you that we believe firmly, in terms of remaking a film like this, we’ve got to make it fresh. It’s not a literal remake of the original the way ‘Footloose’ was — it was identical to the original film. [Our ‘Point Break’] has got elements of the original and it’s not just surfing, it’s other kinds of extreme sports, but surfing is very, very prominent in the story.”

As many cinephiles have pointed out, a Point Break remake is a tricky proposition to make feel fresh or even “necessary”; not only because of the fond memories many moviegoers have for the original, but also because many consider The Fast and the Furious to be an unofficial re-working of the film, along the lines of what Kosove is talking about (albeit, with extreme racing taking the place of surfing/skydiving/etc).

Still, the idea that the new Point Break won’t simply use the Footloose remake formula (ie. rehash many of the exact same plot points and dialogue from the original) may be enough to start getting more people interested… maybe.

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Expect to hear more about both the new Blade Runner flick and Point Break remake during the upcoming early months of 2012.